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I live in metro NY like 30 miles from NYC and have been to LA a bunch of times. NY traffic can be brutal but i have gotten into and parked in the city in 40 - 50 minutes which is not bad considering finding a parking spot can be hard. It really depends on the time of day also there is roadwork which usually screws things up a lot in Queens, Brooklyn etc. To me it seems like it is worse in LA but it cold be cause i dont live there and know alternative routes and such. I never understood why the traffic was so bad in LA though the highways have more lanes and the city is much more spread out than manhattan. Also Park Avenue in NYC is a 2 way street and i use that to go up to down town and for me it is always quick moving. Maybe people are afraid of the wierd bridge going around the side of the building or the tunnel? I learned if possible avoid NY 495 AND LA 405 at rush hours. NYC can be really fun to drive in if you are used to it and its not crowded. To me it feels like i am playing a video game with a certain frog getting across traffic ( CD wont let me enter the name of the game) sometimes, also NY drivers are more aggressive so dont take it personally if some jerk cuts you off everyone is rushing to get nowhere.
Last edited by dchris0625; 10-05-2010 at 01:23 PM..
NYC's average commute time may be shorter than LA's, but I think the traffic in NYC is on another level simply because you have bypassers headed north to New England and south towards Philadelphia and Washington. NYC is a behemoth unto itself, but when you throw in DC/Baltimore/Philly traffic and New England traffic, you get traffic of epic proportions. San Diego, San Fran, Portland and Seattle don't have the population or the proximity to Los Angeles to give it that extra volume.
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Originally Posted by toredyvik
ive been in LA and NYC traffic. nothing beats DC's traffic, specifically 95 (with the exception of the cross-bronx). It always takes me 2 hours to get to work on fridays. ALWAYS. I drive about 30 miles straight south from Tyson's area to Stafford area (which is 45 mins when no traffic). sure, accidents and construction is abundant, but more often than not its pure volume. I think the HOV is a horrible idea. all it does is create bottlenecks. They should have instead created a 7-lane regular highway like LA (instead of 2 lanes HOV, 3 regular lanes, plus super-wide shoulders)...but the real problem is the lack of public transit, that NY has.
DC's traffic is rough, and worse than Atlanta, but it's at least designated to rush hour. If you drive into DC on 1-395 at 11 o'clock on a Saturday night, you will easily cruise into the city. The only place in the DC area that seems to be backed up during irregular hours is I-95 between Dumfries and Stafford. I don't know why that is the case, but that traffic really doesn't loosen up until you get to Fredericksburg.
In New York, there is no cruising into the city no matter what time you're driving. The easiest way to get into NYC traveling north is probably over the Goethals into Staten Island, but you can forget about the Holland and Lincoln Tunnels, and the GW Bridge. Traffic in and around NYC is inevitable during rush and non-rush hour.
Last edited by BajanYankee; 10-05-2010 at 02:40 PM..
NYC traffic is unlike anything in America. It's filled with cars and people, and horns are blaring. To compare LA traffic with NYC traffic it's really like comparing apples to oranges.
LA is very sprawling and in LA the freeways are the main places that traffic is cramped. As soon as you exit the freeway in LA the traffic on most streets are almost non-existent - at least compared to NYC.
In NYC there is no escape - wherever you go there are people, cars, taxis, buses, bicycles, and so on...some people refer to it as energy of the city.
From my experience - NYC street traffic is just insane and there is no where that comes even close. In LA only the freeways are bad, otherwise, pretty much everywhere else it's like your typical suburb.
I think the best example is this:
LA traffic equals - driving on the interstate from SF to LA or DC to NYC (during peak traffic) - with nothing but just car traffic.
NYC traffic equals - driving in the city in Tokyo or some other super large central business district..just insane with people, cars, buses, bicycles, and so on.
Again, making it sound like having WORSE traffic is something to be proud of.
As a truck driver who constantly drive many cities hundreds of times if I had to choose I'd rather deal with the back up on the George Washington any day. I refuse to go back out to LA it is waaay too spread out. It feels like being in a 100 mile back up. You can have it. I-95 isn't so bad once you get north out of the Bronx into Conneticut before it starts up again in Stamford. The back up isn't as spread out like LA. NYC is more vertical where as LA is more spread out. I actually did some local runs out in LA it take forever to get anywhere because it feels like I would be driving from NYC to Allentown. In the Northeast I would say DC, Boston and then NYC in that order. Keep in mind I don't drive on the BQE everyday but it does get crazy but it is nowhere as lengthy in distance with more lanes of mess compared to LA's. The difference is that LA's freeways have more lanes filled with back up (more vehicles) and go much further out of the city. Just picture I-95 multiplied many times over that would make up LA. You couldn't pay me to back out there again.
As a truck driver who constantly drive many cities hundreds of times if I had to choose I'd rather deal with the back up on the George Washington any day. I refuse to go back out to LA it is waaay too spread out. It feels like being in a 100 mile back up. You can have it. I-95 isn't so bad once you get north out of the Bronx into Conneticut before it starts up again in Stamford. The back up isn't as spread out like LA. NYC is more vertical where as LA is more spread out. I actually did some local runs out in LA it take forever to get anywhere because it feels like I would be driving from NYC to Allentown. I refuse to go back out there again. In the Northeast I would say DC, Boston and then NYC in that order. Keep in mind I don't drive on the BQE everyday but it does get crazy but it is nowhere as lengthy in distance with more lanes of mess compared to LA's. The difference is that LA's freeways have more lanes filled with back up and go much further out of the city. Just picture I-95 multiplied many times over that would make up LA.
NYC traffic is unlike anything in America. It's filled with cars and people, and horns are blaring. To compare LA traffic with NYC traffic it's really like comparing apples to oranges.
LA is very sprawling and in LA the freeways are the main places that traffic is cramped. As soon as you exit the freeway in LA the traffic on most streets are almost non-existent - at least compared to NYC.
Ever driven from Hollywood to the 405 down Santa Monica Blvd through West Hollywood? Not as bad as midtown Manhattan, but pretty GD infuriating.
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Originally Posted by EastBay-NowDCarea
In LA only the freeways are bad, otherwise, pretty much everywhere else it's like your typical suburb.
Eh not so much, unless you are equating the suburbs of LA to LA proper.
Quote:
Originally Posted by EastBay-NowDCarea
LA traffic equals - driving on the interstate from SF to LA or DC to NYC (during peak traffic) - with nothing but just car traffic.
NYC traffic equals - driving in the city in Tokyo or some other super large central business district..just insane with people, cars, buses, bicycles, and so on.
I think this quote shows you have only driven through LA a few times or visited Anaheim and assumed the actual city of LA is like that. Driving on Hollywood Blvd or Wilshire is a constant game of "dodge the pedestrian".
Which is why I avoid driving in LA at all costs, plus it's way more fun to walk / take PT.
I've never driven LA but I hear its a madhouse. NYC traffic is not that bad. It's very crowded but people don't know how to drive. Everyone drives too slow. I think Atlanta, DC, and Miami have NYC beat.
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